The Withdrawal Trap.. Biden Will Implicate the Next President in the Thorny Iraq File
The Washington Post newspaper considered that President Joe Biden’s plan for a military withdrawal from Iraq is a trap for the next US president, and may pave the way for a worsening crisis in the Middle East, while indicating that the withdrawal will mean Washington’s complete abandonment of the region and its surrender to Iran.
In 2021, President Joe Biden announced the end of the combat mission in Iraq, but left 2,500 American soldiers there and 900 soldiers in Syria to lead the international coalition against ISIS. But now, with only five months left in office, his administration is working with the government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on a plan to declare the end of that mission as well, and announce a timetable for bringing those forces home.
According to the report, there is a problem with Biden’s desire. Although he seeks to declare “mission accomplished,” it is not, and the follow-up plan is not close to completion. If Biden formally agrees to end the mission, he may pave the way for a worsening Middle East crisis that will be left at the feet of his successor (the next US president).
The Washington Post report indicated that “announcing the withdrawal of US forces, even with a two-year timetable, would indicate that the United States has completely abandoned the region at a time when allies are looking to Washington to increase deterrence against Iran.”
Worse still, according to the American newspaper, the agreement will weaken the ability of the international coalition countries to coordinate action to combat ISIS, and the departure of those forces will create a vacuum that will be filled by ISIS and Iran’s proxies.
Although the Iraqi leadership, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, is publicly calling for the withdrawal of US forces, many Iraqi officials privately fear that such a move would cede Iraq to Iranian control, according to the Washington Post.
The American report stressed the need for the next American president to negotiate an agreement to follow up on the file with the Iraqi side, and if these negotiations fail, American forces will have to withdraw completely, as happened in 2008 after George Bush, who signed an agreement to withdraw all American forces from Iraq, then Barack Obama tried to reverse it but failed to negotiate an agreement to keep some forces there, and after three years, Obama ended up returning thousands of American troops to Iraq when ISIS seized an area of land the size of Virginia.
According to the report, Biden views this move as part of his legacy, to be able to say: “I am the one who ended these endless wars.”
The report concluded by saying: “No one wants to see US forces remain in Iraq and Syria forever, but declaring the mission over does not make it so.
The report concluded by noting that ending “forever wars” is easier said than done. If the United States abandons its commitment to Middle East security now, it may have to learn this lesson the hard way again.
Shafaq.com